The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India c5.s1.49

c5.s1.49

Anahila-Pattana—Virawal-Pattana or Paṭṭana, called also Anihilwâr in Northern Baroda in Gujarat, founded in Samvat 802 or A.D. 746, after the destruction of Valabhî by Banarâja or Vamśarâja. The town was called Aṇahilapattana after the name of a cowherd who pointed out the site (Merutuṅga Âchâryya’s Prabandhachintâmaṇi, ch. 1; Merutuṅga’s Therâvalî, ed. by Dr. Bhau Daji). Hemchandra, the celebrated Jaina grammarian and lexicographer, flourished in the Court of Kumârapâla, king of Anahilapattana (A.D. 1142-1173), and was his spiritual guide: he died at the age of 84 in A. D. 1172, in which year Kumârapâla became a convert to Jainaism (Bhau Daji’s Brief Notes on Hemachandra); but according to other authorities, the conversion took place in A.D. 1159 (Tawney’s Intro., Prabandhachintâmaṇi, p. iii). After the overthrow of Valabhî in the eighth century Anahilapattana became the chief city of Gujarat or Western India till the fifteenth century. For the kings of Anahilapattana, see R. C. Ghosh’s Literary Remains of Dr. Bhau Daji, pp. 138 to 140; JRAS., XIII, p. 158. It was also called Anahillapura.